Quieter Halloween a treat in Colonie

After years of rowdy teens roaming streets, few problems reported

Updated 11:13 pm, Thursday, October 31, 2013

Colonie

After several years where hundreds of teenagers crowded onto streets seemingly chosen at random, this year saw a peaceful Halloween night in the town.

A steady rain helped keep the mob away, but advance social media chatter that preceded mob scenes over the last two years could not be found this year. School officials worked to send a message to parents not to drop their children off in other neighborhoods including recording robocalls to homes.

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This year, the Times Union rode along with Colonie Police Officer Daniel Grebert as he patrolled looking for signs of trouble. His colleagues also were highly visible. Cars entering nearby blocks off Albany Shaker Road were stopped and parents advised not to drop off their children and leave.

At the evening's start around 6 p.m., Grebert said there had been a lack of Twitter and Facebook posts about where teens should gather.

"With the emergence of social media, that's where we get a lot of our intel from," he said.

At 6:30 p.m., Grebert got a call that a white van had been struck by eggs. The driver was stopped on Osborne Road, temporarily blocking traffic.

Two teens were stopped for questioning.

"All there is is candy," a 13-year-old tells Grebert. "I swear to God. Dude, I'm not carrying any eggs. You can check me."

Grebert politely tells the teen to stop calling him "dude."

The boy's friend is quieter as another officer finds some egg yolk on his clothes. The driver is unable to identify them. He walks over and tells the teens he is not interested in any charges.

"I'm good with you guys as long as there is no damage," he said. One teen reaches to shake his hand.

For the next hour and a half, Grebert patrols blocks on and around Danielwood Drive. He looks for crowds of teens.

"You'll know when it's the mob that's not going door to door," he said.

As he drives, rain falls steadily. A few groups of teens are on the streets, along with younger children and their parents, but all are trick or treating.